Pratt & Whitney Powers Northrop Grumman and Navy's Unmanned Combat Air System to Aviation History

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Pratt & Whitney Powers Northrop Grumman and Navy's Unmanned Combat Air System to Aviation History

07:23 EDT Thursday, July 11, 2013

EAST HARTFORD, Conn., July 11, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Pratt & Whitney's F100-PW-220U engine and exhaust system recently powered the first ever carrier-based catapult launch, touch and go, and arrested landing of Northrop Grumman's X-47B flight test aircraft for the U.S. Navy's Unmanned Combat Air System Carrier Demonstration (UCAS-D) program. The historic events took place aboard the USS GEORGE H.W. BUSH (CV 77) off the coast of Virginia. Pratt & Whitney is a United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX) company.

The unmanned aircraft launched from the deck of USS GEORGE H.W. BUSH on May 10 and safely transited across the Chesapeake Bay to land at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., after a 65-minute flight. Less than a week after completing its first catapult launch from the carrier deck the X-47B executed its first touch and go landings aboard the USS George H.W. Bush. On July 10, the X-47B completed its first-ever carrier-based arrested landing on board USS George H.W. Bush off the coast of Virginia.

"Achieving these milestones is exciting news for Pratt & Whitney and a major achievement for our company in demonstrating the capability and flexibility of our technology. We have worked several years with Northrop Grumman, the U.S. Navy and our industry partners to achieve these successes," said Jimmy Reed, Pratt & Whitney's director of Advanced Programs, whose team supplied the engines for the UCAS-D program. "Throughout this program, our F100-PW-220U engines have performed flawlessly and we feel proud of our product and our support of this program."

Northrop Grumman awarded a contract to Pratt & Whitney in 2008 to develop and integrate the engine and exhaust system for the X-47B. The Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-220U engine, a derivative of the F100-PW-220 and -220E engine models that power the F-15 Eagle and F-16 Falcon, enjoys the maturity gained from more than 12 million hours of operational experience. The engine and unique exhaust system have successfully completed ground accelerated mission testing. The accelerated mission test simulated the planned usage of the propulsion system during the X-47B flight test program. This endurance test demonstrated the durability and performance of the F100-PW-220U unique engine hardware and the exhaust system.

The F100-PW-220U engine is capable of providing up to 16,000 pounds of thrust and is recommended for operation in a maritime environment, including carrier deck operations. Pratt & Whitney's F100-PW-220 components and processes are common to today's F100-PW-229 and F119 and F135 family of engine technologies that allow low-risk spiral development for operational flexibility and increased fleet commonality.

Pratt & Whitney is a world leader in the design, manufacture and service of aircraft engines, auxiliary and ground power units and small turbojet propulsion products. United Technologies Corp., based in Hartford, Connecticut, is a diversified company providing high technology products and services to the building and aerospace industries. To learn more about UTC, visit the website or follow the company on Twitter: @UTC. Please visit www.utcaero.com for news from Pratt & Whitney and United Technologies at the Paris Air Show 2013.

This press release contains forward-looking statements concerning future business opportunities. Actual results may differ materially from those projected as a result of certain risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to changes in government procurement priorities and practices or in the number of aircraft to be built; challenges in the design, development, production and support of technologies; as well as other risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to those detailed from time to time in the companies' Securities and Exchange Commission filings.

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